After the men finish their breakfast and load their gear onto the
sled, they set out in the darkness, as the wolves continue to howl.
Daybreak comes at nine in the morning, and the sky warms to a
rose color at mid day. The light, however, quickly fades in the
afternoon, and it grows dark again, forcing the men to stop. As the
wolves' cries get closer and closer to their camp, the dogs are
thrown into a panic. Henry is preparing food when he hears a
different cry coming from the dogs. He then notices a strange dog
among his own and thinks that perhaps it is a tame wolf. The next
morning, Henry wakes up to Bill's curses. Another dog, Frog, has
disappeared. The men eat their breakfast, harness the four dogs to
the sled, and leave, pursued by the wolves.

When they stop for the night, Bill ties the dogs in such a manner
that they cannot tangle their traces anymore, and he is confident
that none of the dogs can get away. Just then, One Ear begins to
whine. The men see the "dog-like animal," the she-wolf, who has
been luring the dogs away so that her pack can feed on them. They
realize that she is quite tame and must have had some experience
with humans. The next morning Spanker is gone. The men later
find the stick to which Spanker was tied and conclude that the
wolves have killed him.

Bill goes to take a look at the wolves and comes back with the news
that they are very thin and desperately hungry. They see the she-wolf
approaching them again. She is over two feet tall at the shoulder and
five feet long, with a gray wolf coat that has an unusual reddish hue.
She is not a bit scared of the men and eyes them hungrily. Bill is tempted
to use his gun, but Henry advises him against it, reminding him they have
only three cartridges left. Besides, the she-wolf has already disappeared
into the woods.

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The other wolves are getting bolder as they approach the men, but
the remaining dogs manage to hold them off. Bill has lost hope by
now and is sure that the wolves will eventually overpower them.
When Henry snaps at him, he does not even get a response from
Bill. Henry resolves to try to lift his companion's spirits the next
day.

Notes

The dark mood of the novel is further developed in this chapter.
Although it is normal daytime, the light lasts for only a few hours.
Additionally, whenever the men stop for the night, the cries of the
wolves come closer and closer. The men are also slowly losing
their dog-team to the wolves. A female wolf comes amongst the
dogs and lures them away. Bill believes that the she-wolf is tame,
not afraid of humans. Bill states "that animal's familiarity with
campfires is suspicious and immoral."

The men "amuse" themselves at the sight of the gleaming circle of
wolf eyes that surrounds them and draws closer every night. The
men believe they are helpless. A couple of shots at these animals
would probably have been enough to scare the wolves away, but
the men are nearly out of ammunition and cannot spare the shots.
They must rely upon the sight of the fire the keep the wolves at
bay.

The fact that nothing is left of Spanker, except for the stick to
which he was tied, shows how hungry the wolves are, making
them very aggressive. They relentless pursue Bill and Henry,
which leads Bill to conclude that they are going to end up as prey.
Henry's encouraging remarks do not seem to have any effect on
Bill, who is typically preoccupied with his own thoughts.

The she-wolf is shown to be a unique creature in both appearance
and character. The unusual red tinge of her coat is quite striking
and implies that she is not a pure wolf. Her behavior is also unlike
that of the typical wolf, for she is not afraid to draw near the fire or
the humans.